Episode 7 – Kyushu & Okinawa: Volcanoes, Empires, Sanctuaries, and Island Identity Historical Perspective Kyushu – Japan’s Gateway to the World Kyushu Kyushu is one of Japan’s oldest cultural regions and has historically served as the entrance point for...
The Chūgoku region covers the entire western tip of Honshu. Web Japan describes it as mountainous, with many small basins and coastal plains, and notes that the Seto Inland Sea coast is the main industrial and commercial belt, while...
Shikoku: Pilgrimage Island, Folklore Heartland, & Japan’s Rural Soul Kochi Shikoku — composed of Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, and Kochi — is Japan’s fourth-largest island and historically the least urbanized of the main islands. Web Japan’s regional overview notes that...
Kansai: Merchants, Ports, and Sacred Mountains (Osaka, Kobe, Wakayama) Source: Japanguide The Kansai / Kinki region is the cradle of much of what we now call “traditional Japanese culture.” Web Japan notes that the Kinki region, in west-central Honshu,...